Daniel Oscar Hunter

Most of Australia's fauna is endemic, meaning it is found nowhere else on earth. Our forests are bastions of biodiversity. But these same species are threatened and disappearing at an alarming rate. Australia regrettably has the worst mammal extinction record on earth - which raises an critical question - what is it going to take to save our species?



Many of these extinctions can be attributed to the invasive red fox and feral cat. Yet, predators like the dingo, Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll may help curb future extinctions. My current PhD research, demonstrates the role that top predators play suppressing smaller predators, like foxes and cats, and the enormous benefits that flow through to our threatened native mammal species.



This forms the central premise of the film.

Without giving everything away - my research is pointing to the important function predators perform mitigating the devastating effects foxes and cats wreak on our native mammals. This research draws on both intensive field research with modelling to arrive at the conclusion, that restoring predators to effective densities could help restore ecosystem balance.

Through the production of this documentary, I want to share my findings in a visually beautiful and digestible form, with the valued opinions of some of the world’s best conservation thinkers and doers. I aim to present an evocative argument and potential solutions to the conservation challenges facing our biodiversity.

I'm going to fight for the survival of our threatened species the best way I know how - through film.



Australia is home to many of the world's best conservation ecologists exploring solutions to our mammal conservation challenges. Through this film, I aim to to capture and share some of the boldest and best ideas from across the nation.



Sharing this story of science, conservation and the age of extinction via the film medium - I hope to garner support and assist in raising the profile of the plight and challenges our threatened species face. Central to this is communicating the role of native predators in forest ecosystems as part of the solution to saving our native mammal species.

Your generous donations will ensure that the story can be finished and told as best as it possibly can be.

As a bare minimum I am seeking help so that I can get to Tasmania to shoot interviews with experts and natural historians. I need your support to get down to Tassie, hire a car, pay for fuel, some accommodation and hire an extra camera to collect back up interview footage to use for B-roll natural history footage.

Anything over my target will be invested in making the film even better - and allow me to carry out more interviews and film in more locations. Additionally, any extra fund will allow me to be able to pay a musician to create an original score for the film and work with my friends in the filmmaking industry to create polished animations and post-production.

There's always unforeseen events, both good and bad, that occur throughout the filmmaking process. It'd be impossible to try and predict them all now. Indeed, interviews might now work out, some files might become corrupted but, at the end of the day the show still goes on. Filmmaking is dynamic. The whole process shapes the film and makes it the end product it becomes.